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wvdgoot avatar Ubuntu

ath9k_htc driver fails to load with modprobe for AWUS036NHA (chipset AR9271) on Ubuntu 21.10

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wvdgoot

I have the AWUS036NHA long-range adapter (with the AR9271 chipset) and am trying to connect using Ubuntu 21.10.

lsusb shows the device:

Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 8087:0a2b Intel Corp. Bluetooth wireless interface
Bus 001 Device 006: ID 0cf3:9271 Qualcomm Atheros Communications AR9271 802.11n
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 0c45:6717 Microdia Integrated_Webcam_HD
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 413c:301c Dell Computer Corp. Dell Universal Receiver
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

lshw -C network does not show the device, but I see that it is connected when I run lshw and look for the USB devices:

...    
      *-usb
             description: USB controller
             product: 100 Series/C230 Series Chipset Family USB 3.0 xHCI Controller
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 14
             bus info: pci@0000:00:14.0
             version: 31
             width: 64 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             capabilities: pm msi xhci bus_master cap_list
             configuration: driver=xhci_hcd latency=0
             resources: irq:127 memory:ed430000-ed43ffff
           *-usbhost:0
                product: xHCI Host Controller
                vendor: Linux 5.13.0-28-generic xhci-hcd
                physical id: 0
                bus info: usb@1
                logical name: usb1
                version: 5.13
                capabilities: usb-2.00
                configuration: driver=hub slots=16 speed=480Mbit/s
              *-usb:0
                   ...
              *-usb:1 UNCLAIMED
                   description: Generic USB device
                   product: UB91C
                   vendor: ATHEROS
                   physical id: 3
                   bus info: usb@1:3
                   version: 1.08
                   serial: 12345
                   capabilities: usb-2.00
                   configuration: maxpower=500mA speed=480Mbit/s
              *-usb:2
                   ...
              *-usb:3
                   ...

When I plug in the USB cable and run sudo dmesg I get

[  984.770279] usb 1-3: new high-speed USB device number 7 using xhci_hcd
[  984.935348] usb 1-3: New USB device found, idVendor=0cf3, idProduct=9271, bcdDevice= 1.08
[  984.935360] usb 1-3: New USB device strings: Mfr=16, Product=32, SerialNumber=48
[  984.935365] usb 1-3: Product: UB91C
[  984.935369] usb 1-3: Manufacturer: ATHEROS
[  984.935372] usb 1-3: SerialNumber: 12345
[  984.959693] ath: disagrees about version of symbol ieee80211_get_channel_khz
[  984.959696] ath: Unknown symbol ieee80211_get_channel_khz (err -22)
[  984.959704] ath: disagrees about version of symbol wiphy_apply_custom_regulatory
[  984.959705] ath: Unknown symbol wiphy_apply_custom_regulatory (err -22)
[  984.959717] ath: disagrees about version of symbol freq_reg_info
[  984.959718] ath: Unknown symbol freq_reg_info (err -22)

I followed the instructions here: https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/326462/how-do-i-install-atheros-ar9271-wifi-drivers-on-debian and installed the Atheros firmware with sudo apt install firmware-atheros. I believe I need the ath9k_htc driver and it seems that I already have it installed:

$ ls /lib/firmware/ath9k_htc 
htc_7010-1.4.0.fw  htc_7010-1.dev.0.fw  htc_9271-1.4.0.fw  htc_9271-1.dev.0.fw

However, lsmod | grep ath gives me nothing at all. So I was thinking that modprobe ath9k_htc might solve it since it the device is listed as supported (https://wiki.debian.org/ath9k_htc), but this does not work either:

modprobe: ERROR: could not insert 'ath9k_htc': Invalid argument

If you have any ideas on how to solve this or where to look for, I would appreciate a lot.

Edit:

$ sudo modprobe ath9k_htc && sudo dmesg | grep ath
modprobe: ERROR: could not insert 'ath9k_htc': Invalid argument

$ sudo dmesg | grep ath
[ 5661.611665] ath: disagrees about version of symbol ieee80211_get_channel_khz
[ 5661.611668] ath: Unknown symbol ieee80211_get_channel_khz (err -22)
[ 5661.611681] ath: disagrees about version of symbol wiphy_apply_custom_regulatory
[ 5661.611682] ath: Unknown symbol wiphy_apply_custom_regulatory (err -22)
[ 5661.611699] ath: disagrees about version of symbol freq_reg_info
[ 5661.611700] ath: Unknown symbol freq_reg_info (err -22)
[ 5676.847157] ath: disagrees about version of symbol ieee80211_get_channel_khz
[ 5676.847160] ath: Unknown symbol ieee80211_get_channel_khz (err -22)
[ 5676.847174] ath: disagrees about version of symbol wiphy_apply_custom_regulatory
[ 5676.847175] ath: Unknown symbol wiphy_apply_custom_regulatory (err -22)
[ 5676.847193] ath: disagrees about version of symbol freq_reg_info
[ 5676.847194] ath: Unknown symbol freq_reg_info (err -22)

$ ls -al /usr/lib/firmware/ath9k_htc | grep 9271
-rw-r--r--  1 root root 51008 dec  7 09:40 htc_9271-1.4.0.fw
-rw-r--r--  1 root root 51008 aug 31 10:28 htc_9271-1.dev.0.fw

Edit 2:

Could someone point me to resources to learn more about the modprobe: ERROR: could not insert 'ath9k_htc': Invalid argument error? I don't understand what this means at all.

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chili555 avatar
cn flag
chili555
Please edit your question to show the result of these terminal commands: `sudo modprobe ath10k_pci && sudo dmesg | grep ath` and also: `ls -al /usr/lib/firmware/ath9k_htc | grep 9271`
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wvdgoot avatar
pk flag
wvdgoot
@chili555, I updated the question.
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chili555 avatar
cn flag
chili555
Oops! Please pardon my mistake. I meant: `sudo modprobe ath9k_pci && sudo dmesg | grep ath` Also, it appers that the *dev* firmware was installed (improperly) by the Debian package. Let's rename it: `cd /usr/lib/firmware/ath9k_htc && sudo mv htc_9271-1.dev.0.fw htc_9271-1.dev.0.bak` Reboot and tell us if there is any improvement.
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wvdgoot avatar
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wvdgoot
That first command gives me `modprobe: FATAL: Module ath9k_pci not found in directory /lib/modules/5.13.0-28-generic`.
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wvdgoot avatar
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wvdgoot
I also did the renaming and after rebooting the I got the same output as before.
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chili555 avatar
cn flag
chili555
Please confirm that your system is fully updated and rebooted.
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wvdgoot avatar
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wvdgoot
@chili555, confirmed. I ran `apt update`, `apt upgrade` and `apt clean`, and then rebooted. Still the same problem. I thinking that I am unable load any module using `modprobe`. Is this possible? If yes, do you have a suggestion to test this hypothesis?
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chili555 avatar
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chili555
My apologies; please try: `sudo modprobe ath9k_htc` and show me the result. We hope it is blank.
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wvdgoot avatar
pk flag
wvdgoot
@chili555 nope that's the `modprobe: ERROR: could not insert 'ath9k_htc': Invalid argument` again. I don't know what it means and cannot find anything useful about it. Isn't there some documentation about `modprobe` besides the man page?
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chili555 avatar
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chili555
Let us [continue this discussion in chat](https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/133975/discussion-between-chili555-and-wvdgoot).
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chili555 avatar Ubuntu
cn flag
chili555

In your dmesg, we see:

[ 5661.611665] ath: disagrees about version of symbol ieee80211_get_channel_khz
[ 5661.611668] ath: Unknown symbol ieee80211_get_channel_khz (err -22)
[ 5661.611681] ath: disagrees about version of symbol wiphy_apply_custom_regulatory
[ 5661.611682] ath: Unknown symbol wiphy_apply_custom_regulatory (err -22)

I suspected that you installed some other driver(s) in an attempt to get the ath9k_htc device working. Some other drivers not currently in the kernel install a custom cfg80211 and/or mac80211 module that conflicts with the versions in the kernel and which ath9k_htc requires.

We checked:

sudo dkms status

We found and then removed a few extraneous drivers. Upon reboot, your wireless is now working.

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